Information ordinance against Constitution

LAHORE: The Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid’s Punjab Assembly legislators have declared the Punjab Transparency and Right to Information Ordinance 2013 ‘against the Constitution’, saying it has made access to official information ‘impossible’ by linking it with the chief minister’s approval.

“The access to information was difficult earlier but after promulgation of this ordinance it has become impossible,” PML-Q deputy parliamentary leader Waqas Hasan Moakal said here on Tuesday.

He said it was in violation of the Constitution’s Article 19-A and the PML-Q would launch a protest drive against it. He said instead of taking the parliamentarians on board, the ordinance had been promulgated to protect the rights of “one man”.

“The proposed law should have thoroughly been debated in the assembly and the suggestions of the legislators of treasury and opposition be incorporated before making it law,” he said, adding the ordinance was acceptable to no one.

MPAs Asif Nakai and Amer Sultan Cheema said the ordinance was silent on providing protection to the whistleblowers.

They said the Punjab government had blatantly violated the Constitution in the new local body law as well. They said the way the government was making laws showed the country was being run under a “dictatorship” and the opposition would not allow that.

MOTION: The PML-Q on Tuesday submitted a privilege motion to the Punjab Assembly against what it called substandard construction in the Ashiyana Housing Scheme.

MPAs Ahmad Shah Khagga, Dr M Afzal and Jeeda Khan alleged that massive irregularities had been committed in the project. They demanded third-party audit of the scheme.